Feeling Wyrd? Sled Island sneak peek

d'eon performs at the Wyrd Alberta: Sled Island Warm-Up Party on April 30. Photo by Selina Renfrow

With over 180 bands announced for the 2010 Sled Island line up, the five day June 30-July 3 show is guaranteed to knock your socks off with the most intense music festival the city of Calgary will see this year.

To give festival go-ers a sneak peek of what the festival will be like, Sled Island organizers teamed up with Weird Canada to present Wyrd Alberta: Sled Island Warm-Up Party. On April 30, the day before the full Sled Island line up and main-stage schedule was announced, 17 bands took over the two floors of the Royal Canadian Legion No.1 to showcase the musical offerings of the province and how jam packed this festival is going to be.

With doors opening at 7 p.m. and acts playing until last call, it was a veritable marathon of music. Dividing the acts between two rooms on the second floor and the main room on the main floor, music fans easily went up and down the stairs without nary an act overlapping. At times, it was nearly perfect. As soon as one band ended another began.

The Legion No.1 has been a part of the Sled Island festival since day one and it will continue to be the perfect main venue with it’s central location, high capacity, ample seating, two floors and dedicated staff. Plus the cheap beer is nice too.

If you missed Wyrd Alberta you better plan on buying Sled Island passes in advance. Festival passes are $170 plus service fees. While it’s likely impossible to catch all 180+ bands, that works out to be less than $1 per band. VIP passes are $350, which give you priority access to all venues. The full festival schedule will be announced June 1. Check out www.sledisland.com for lineup, passes and main stage schedule.